


Beside You

by FairyLights101



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Character, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 09:16:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11666169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyLights101/pseuds/FairyLights101
Summary: Akaashi took a deep breath. Pulled his phone out as he calmly took his shoes off, set his bags down, and dialed Bokuto. He picked up on the second ring.“Hey Keiji! What’s up?”“I need you and Kuroo to get back to the apartment as soon as possible,” he said softly.





	Beside You

**Author's Note:**

> [tsukkitani](http://tsukkitani.tumblr.com/) on tumblr donated to my [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/fairylights) and asked for bokuakakurotsukki with autistic Tsukishima having a shutdown/meltdown. I did a lot of research, so I hope you all enjoy this and find it okay!

Chaos had struck the apartment. 

Shoes had been kicked off halfway across the living area, forgotten, a backpack with its contents spilling out of it and scattered all across the room just a little further in. Papers were strewn across surfaces - some had been shredded into pieces so small that they almost mimicked confetti, would have if not for the plain white color and the black text visible on some of them. The couch cushions had been hurled onto the floor, one beside a lamp, a pile of shattered glass beneath it. Dirt from a plant that had been spilled, the poor thing trampled, nearly crushed. 

Akaashi took a deep breath. Pulled his phone out as he calmly took his shoes off, set his bags down, and dialed Bokuto. He picked up on the second ring. 

_ “Hey Keiji! What’s up?”  _

“I need you and Kuroo to get back to the apartment as soon as possible,” he said softly. 

The sharp inhale was painfully audible, then muffled whispering, presumably as they spoke to one another, and then Kuroo was on the phone, his voice jarringly loud.  _ “Is he okay? Do you know where he is this time?”  _

“No. I’m going to find him now. Just hurry.” 

He hung up before they could respond and started to move, picking his way through the path of destruction. The further in he got, the more glass he saw - a cup had been knocked over, as well as a vase full of daffodils, the beautiful flowers sitting sadly in a puddle of water on the ground. But all was quiet. He checked the closet first, but the space at the bottom was unoccupied, as was the shower, and the closet in the guest room. He checked under the beds too, just for the sake of doing so, before he faced the closet of their bedroom, the door slightly ajar. 

Akaashi bit his tongue.  _ I hope Bokuto remembered to grease the hinges.  _

It slid open smoothly beneath his fingers, and light spilled into the closet. Tsukishima was curled up in the corner, knees tucked to his chest, one hand beneath the other as he scratched at it, incessant, desperate, the skin beneath red, breaking. Akaashi swallowed, shifted forward, and Tsukishima pressed further into the corner, shrinking away from the quiet rustle of his clothes. “Kei,” he said, voice pitched louder than normal. It was a voice Kei stirred to, not flinch away from, and Akaashi felt a trickle of relief in his stomach as he pressed his hands to Tsukishima’s arms, no light touches for him. Only heavy ones, ones that he wouldn’t slap away, ones that gave him a solid reminder of the world, ones that didn’t set off a part of him that couldn’t stand those lighter touches at moments like this. 

“I’m here. I’m right here.” 

Tsukishima didn’t raise his head, but a shiver rolled through his body, and he twitched, leaned into the heavy hands on him. Akaashi squeezed his elbows, fingers gently digging into the gaps in his joints there, and he held still, careful, and went silent, moving his fingers along Tsukishima’s arms. He wasn’t sure where Tsukishima’s fidget cube had gone, where the chunk of putty he could play with was placed, or any of the other little things he could play with to focus on - if he’d lost control, he must have not known or remembered either, and Akaashi didn’t want to paw over him anymore than necessary, any more than he’d said was okay prior. 

He just gently rubbed circles into Tsukishima’s skin, slow ones that made him shiver and lean into the touch, lips moving, forming words that never passed his lips. They couldn’t, that much Akaashi was sure of, by the way Tsukishima shook his head and growled softly at himself, one hand jerking up to tug at his hair, before he huddled back in, trying to scratch at himself before Akaashi took his hands, squeezed them tight, and pressed them to his chest. Right where Tsukishima could feel his heart beat. Akaashi’s hands slid down to Tsukishima’s knees, squeezing, giving him something to focus on. Something that evened out Tsukishima’s breathing, left his shivering going still and his head lolling back to the wall, tension still in his shoulders, but no longer quite as tight, as fierce. 

It took a long time before Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered open, before his lips curled loosely around his name. “Kei...ji.” His voice was thick, stilted, and he blinked slowly, lips twitching, fingers fluttering, seeking. 

Akaashi took them, squeezed them tight, and smiled softly. “I’m right here Kei, right here.” Tsukishima nodded, let his eyes flicker shut, and he leaned forward, oh so slowly, and pressed their hands to his forehead. He was cold, clammy with sweat that still hadn’t dried. It hadn’t been long then. He’d missed it by perhaps half an hour. He gave it a few more minutes before he pressed his fingers into Tsukishima’s skin. “Can you stand for me?” 

Tsukishima pulled his head up, blinked blearily at Akaashi. Shook his head. 

Akaashi ran his thumbs along the side of his hands. “Do you want to stand?” 

It took a moment, but then a nod came, hesitant. 

Akaashi shifted forward, weight behind his hands as he trailed them down Tsukishima’s skin, something for him to focus on, more than the quiet rustle of clothes, more than the other faint noises he could no doubt hear. Akaashi carefully slid an arm beneath Tsukishima, draped one of those long, lanky arms over his shoulders, carefully pulled him off the ground. Tsukishima slumped heavily against him, barely moving, but Akaashi had done this more than once, and it was no different, carefully walking his uncooperative body over to the bed and laying him down, head propped up slightly. 

He pulled a blanket close, and Tsukishima’s fingers fluttered across it for a moment before he clutched it tight, rubbing it between his fingers. Akaashi reached beside the bed, found a water bottle there, unopened, and he cracked it open, pressed it forward. Tsukishima released the blanket with one hand, but his hand was shaky, uncertain, and he merely held Akaashi’s wrist, so tight Akaashi knew there would be finger-shaped bruises in his skin later, as Akaashi brought the water to his lips. Tsukishima drank greedily, some of the water spilling out of his mouth, and he finished half of it before he pushed Akaashi’s hand away, but he continued to hold Akaashi’s wrist. Seeking the heat, just like he wanted the feel of the fabric between his fingers. 

Akaashi passed the water to his other hand, set it aside, and let Tsukishima curl in a little, Akaashi’s hand pressed into his chest. Tsukishima twitched a second later, and Akaashi turned, right as the front door shut, just barely audible, and then two sets of footsteps came close and the bedroom door opened. Bokuto and Kuroo looked haggard and winded, like they’d sprinted back - and they probably had. 

Bokuto wheezed as he crossed the room in quick, easy strides and sank down onto the bed, as close to Tsukishima as he dared. “Hey Kei,” he murmured. Tsukishima shook his head, and Bokuto winced before he swallowed, collected himself, and repeated the words, louder. That was better, and Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered a little, fingers twitching on Akaashi’s skin. 

Kuroo crept onto the bed and sank down by Tsukishima’s feet. “We’re right here,” he said, “We’re with you, Tsukki.” Like that, surrounded in the quiet, with warmth, Akaashi watched as the tension slowly sank out of his shoulders, as Tsukishima’s vice-like grip on his wrist gradually faltered and the frantic motion of his fingers on the blanket began to die away. 

Ten minutes inched past. 

Fifteen. 

Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered, drooping, and his hand slipped away from Akaashi’s. “Kei,” he murmured. His eyes struggled to stay open, and he nodded, barely coherent, and Akaashi brushed his cheek, gentle, the soft touches no longer too much, and those dazed amber eyes flicked across him. “Go to sleep. We’re right here.” Tsukishima barely managed a nod before he slumped, listing towards Bokuto, and he wrapped his arms tight around Tsukishima, pulled him down into the bed, and glanced at the other two. They nodded, rose, and walked out, careful and quiet. 

Only when the bedroom door was shut and they were sure that things were okay did Akaashi slump, and Kuroo was there to lean into, warm arms encircling him, pulling him close as his head settled into the crook of Kuroo’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” Kuroo whispered to him, fingers trailing down his back, and Akaashi shrugged, weary.

“I’m just worried about him.” Worried, because it was rare that he had such a bad day. Because it would be hours probably before they found out what had happened, before they could talk things through. Even longer before the edge that always followed his shutdowns and meltdowns left Tsukishima. Worried, because he wanted to hold his lover tight, hide him from the world, everything that left him hurting and struggling, even though he  _ knew _ he couldn’t, that Tsukishima would hate it. 

Akaashi sighed, shook his head, and pulled back. Kept his eyes down, away from Kuroo. “Let’s clean.” 

He tried to step away, but a hand caught him by the wrist, held him in place, and Akaashi glanced up, fleeting, until Kuroo cupped his cheek, forced Akaashi to meet his gaze. Kuroo searched his face for a moment before he smiled faintly and squeezed Akaashi’s wrist, leaned in, pressed a sugary kiss to his nose. 

“Take a breath, Keiji. Everything’s alright.” 

Akaashi closed his eyes. Took a deep breath, one that made his aching chest expand, the thick cords of anxiety loosening a little on him. He turned his head up, let Kuroo kiss him on the lips, and sighed into it with a weak smile of his own. Finally, Kuroo let him go, and they got to work. 

Thankfully, despite how chaotic things had looked when they’d first walked in, things weren’t too bad. The glass was easy enough to sweep up, and, with two of them, it was easy to put things back in their places, quick and quiet, straightening lamps, setting cushions back on the couch, putting chairs back in their places, sweeping the dirt and decimated plant up, and more. 

Slowly, the path of destruction disappeared, and, soon enough, they were done, standing in the center of their apartment and staring around it, the kettle Kuroo had started somewhere during it whistling.

Kuroo moved over, poured a cup, and within moments a sweet, fruity aroma filled the air. Akaashi smiled, even as he shook his head, and swatted gently at Kuroo, who merely grinned and pressed the mug of tea into his hands, then nudged him over to the barstools. Kuroo held his hand while he drank his tea, piping hot, and munched on a pack of onigiri that Kuroo had also pulled out, but a wave of heated relief that swept through him, working on all those anxious knots in his chest until he could almost breathe without a hitch by the time all the tea was gone and only an empty mug and tray remained, stomach full and a warmth in his chest. 

He didn’t have a chance to put it in the sink, not when Kuroo pressed soft fingers into his back, guided him back to the bedroom - back to where Bokuto and Tsukishima were curled around each other, Bokuto snoring quietly, one hand on Tsukishima’s waist, a leg thrown over him, practically draped across him, though, when Kuroo put a hand on his shoulder, Bokuto woke with a near-silent snort and blinked drowsily at the other two before he held his arm out. Kuroo grinned at him and readily crawled forward into his embrace, snuggling in close before he cast a pointed look back at Akaashi. Akaashi glanced at the clock. 

Just past three p.m. - not too late for a nap he supposed. 

He shook his head, but he crawled into bed, sprawled across Kuroo and Bokuto, unwilling to be so far from Tsukishima, though he knew that, if he woke up to bodies on all sides, it could overwhelm him again. Akaashi merely reached over and laid his hand on Tsukishima’s hip. Squeezed it gently as he watched those blond lashes flutter slightly as Tsukishima nestled further into his pillow. Akaashi smiled faintly. 

_ We’re right here. Right beside you. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hit me up at [my tumblr](http://fairylights101writes.tumblr.com/) if you want!


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